Working Mothers Represent: How Children Affect the Legislative Agenda of Women in Congress

• Date: 01 May 2019
• DOI: 10.1177/1532673X18808037
• Published date: 01 May 2019
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/1532673X18808037

American Politics Research

2019, Vol. 47(3) 447 –470

© The Author(s) 2018

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DOI: 10.1177/1532673X18808037

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Article

Working Mothers

Represent: How Children

Affect the Legislative

Agenda of Women in

Congress

Lisa A. Bryant1

and Julia Marin Hellwege2

Abstract

Issues and policies pertaining to children and families are often labeled

“women’s issues” and assumed to be on the radar of all women, but we

argue that they are more salient for mothers, particularly working mothers,

than for other women. This study examines the role of motherhood as an

identity for women in Congress by looking at the introduction of bills that

affect children and families from 1973 through 2013. We define working

mothers as women who have children below 18 years of age at home

while they are in office, as opposed to those who have adult children or

no children. Our findings show that Congressional working mothers are

more likely to introduce legislation that address issues specific to parents

and children. We also find that legislation specifically dealing with children’s

health and welfare is more likely to be introduced by members with children

than those without.

Keywords

Congress, women, legislation, mother, children

1California State University, Fresno, CA, USA

2University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD, USA

Corresponding Author:

Lisa A. Bryant, California State University, Fresno, 2225 East San Ramon, Fresno, CA 93740,

USA.

Email: lbryant@csufresno.edu

808037APRXXX10.1177/1532673X18808037American Politics ResearchBryant and Marin Hellwege

research-article2018

448 American Politics Research 47(3)

In 2013, Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) gave birth to a daugh-

ter who was born without either of her kidneys, requiring special medical

attention. After going public with this information, Representative Herrera

Beutler reported that the experience of having to seek out medical care across

state lines for her own child, and hearing from parents going through the

same ordeal, helped shape her legislative agenda (Schwartz, 2015). The fol-

lowing year, she proposed legislation making it easier for children on

Medicaid to receive treatment across state lines if they had a complex medi-

cal condition. In an interview with Marie Claire, she stated, “I probably

would have supported (the legislation) before . . . but I wouldn’t be the one

who’s selling it” (Schwartz, 2015). Similarly, Representative Cathy McMorris

Rodgers (R-WA) is the mother of a young child with Down Syndrome. This

experience led her to form the bipartisan Congressional Down Syndrome

Caucus and cosponsor a bill called the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act

(Sylvester & Swain, 2012). In 2017, McMorris Rodgers (2017) wrote an

op-ed for the Washington Post in which she cited her child’s special medical

needs as her motivation in voting for the American Health Care Act, again

showing that her role as a parent influenced her legislative agenda. These are

examples of how motherhood is an identity that shapes the attitudes, work-

place experiences, and agenda of even the most elite working mothers, our

nation’s leaders.

There are currently 84 women serving in the House, totaling 19.3% of rep-

resentatives (Center for American Women in Politics, 2018). Although the

number of women has increased steadily over time, some have argued that the

legislative agenda of congressional women has not changed much since the

first woman was elected into the House (Foerstel & Foerstel, 1996). Female

members of Congress (MCs) introduce legislation often considered to address

“women’s issues”—issues such as equality in the workplace including sexual

harassment and the wage gap, women’s health care issues including reproduc-

tive rights and insurance coverages, and social issues such as domestic vio-

lence. Were it not for women in Congress, many of these issues may never be

part of the public discourse or legislative agenda.

Although much of the literature has relied on the concept of “women’s

issues,” arguably, several of the issues in that broad category are not necessar-

ily on the radar of all women. Policies regarding topics such as school lunch

programs, maternity leave, day care costs, and children’s health insurance are

far from the minds of many women; however, mothers with young children

deal with these issues on a regular basis. Given that legislators with minor

children are more likely to have recent experience with these issues, they may

also be more likely to introduce bills addressing policies that directly impact

families and working mothers. Our study makes a contribution to the literature